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THREE NEWSPAPER EMPLOYEES KILLED IN ARSON ATTACK

15 May 2007

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Three employees of a Tamil daily were killed last week during a protest against a survey published in the newspaper, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF).

Firebombs launched on 9 May at the "Dinakaran" newspaper office in the southeastern state of Tamil Nadu killed two computer engineers, M. Vind Kumar and G. Gopinath, and a security guard, K. Muthuranalingam. All three employees died of asphyxiation. The building also houses Sun TV and other media outlets.

"Dinakaran" had published an opinion poll that indicated public support for M.K. Stalin to succeed his father, M. Karunanidhi, as chief minister of Tamil Nadu, over his main political rival and elder brother, M.K. Azhagiri. All three belong to the Tamil Nadu state's ruling DMK party.

Journalists have staged demonstrations in several Indian cities in protest against the arson attack and calling for the arrest of Azhagiri, who is believed to be responsible, reports RSF.

According to CPJ, Karunanidhi said he had called for the federal authorities, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), to investigate the attack. CPJ says 12 people have been arrested.

Authorities continue to use sedition and criminal defamation laws to prosecute citizens who criticise government officials or oppose state policies. In a blow to free speech, the government in 2016 argued before the Supreme Court in favour of retaining criminal penalties for defamation. The court upheld the law.

In the 27 cases of journalists murdered for their work in India since CPJ began keeping records in 1992, there have been no convictions. More than half of those killed reported regularly on corruption. The cases of Jagendra Singh, Umesh Rajput, and Akshay Singh, who died between 2011 and 2015, show how small-town journalists face greater risk in their reporting than those from larger outlets, and how India's culture of impunity is leaving the country's press vulnerable to threats and attacks

The government uses draconian laws such as the sedition provisions of the penal code, the criminal defamation law, and laws dealing with hate speech to silence dissent. These laws are vaguely worded, overly broad, and prone to misuse, and have been repeatedly used for political purposes against critics at the national and state level.

Despite its Constitutional commitment to free speech, India’s legal system makes it surprisingly easy to silence others. Routine corruption, inefficiency, and the selective enforcement of vague and overbroad laws allow individuals, or small groups, to censor opinions they find distasteful. - See more at: http://www.pen-international.org/the-india-report-executive-summary-and-key-findings/#sthash.TIIM2xbu.dpuf

The media in Tripura is still dependent on the government for financial help, giving them an unprecedented upper hand to control press freedom in the state. As long as the political party in power is satisfied, the media is deemed to be okay otherwise there is an incredible pressure on the journalists as they have to not only endure insults but also face demotion in rank as well as being refused accreditation. - See more at: https://samsn.ifj.org/media-in-north-eastern-state-of-tripura/#sthash.0GypROMb.dpuf

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